Blogs from Yongin, South Korea, Asia - page 2

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Asia » South Korea » Yongin December 28th 2011

Hello everyone from South Korea! I was hoping to publish a blog entry before I left Toronto, but didn't quite get that far with Christmas and last minute stuff. I arrived at Pearson around 5:45am or so Monday morning after a very important final Tim Hortons run. Luggage check-in was a snap. My luggage was heavier than I anticipated though - 38lb. No issue at all, I was just hoping to pack lighter! Griff and I hung out with Michelle and my family until we had to go through security. They all get life points for getting up super early on a holiday. Security was also quick and simple. An airport worker let us know about an additional security checkpoint downstairs from the main one, and we sailed through. Well, I did. Griff set off the ... read more
It's a Long Way to Korea

Asia » South Korea » Yongin December 24th 2010

December 24, 2010 Hello Everyone, Yeah I know I’ve completely neglected my blog for the last half of this year. I guess as I’ve settled into my life in Korea for several months things haven’t seemed as exciting or as new that needed to be written about. But with it being the holiday season I feel that it’s the perfect time to give another update. In light of the high tensions between North and South Korea, things are still good here. I am always concerned about what could happen but I so feel a sense of security in knowing that Koreans are some of the most non-violent people on this planet. I know neither one of them want to go to war and in the end it’ll be a loose-loose situation for both sides. My ... read more
Christmas Concert
3rd Grade Boys
Sophia's 3rd Grade class

Asia » South Korea » Yongin August 12th 2010

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted here, I apologize. Everything is going well. My students have been on their 5 week summer vacation for the past 3 weeks. This week and next I’m teaching English summer camps. I’ve had to design the curriculum for 3 separate classes, needless to say this was very time consuming. I’m gonna back up here to share an experience I enjoyed my first week here. Since my school is about 20km outside of the city I live in I have a 25 minute scenic drive everyday to get to work. I believe on the second day I notice out of the corner of my eye a gigantic gold Buddhist temple tucked away in a small yet heavily vegetated canyon. Since at this time I didn’t know anyone, any ... read more
Waujeongsa
Waujeongsa
Waujeongsa

Asia » South Korea » Yongin June 29th 2010

Hey everyone sorry it’s taken me so long to update this blog. Everything is going well for the most part, learning Hangeul continues to be a struggle yet a rewarding adventure. School is nearing the end of the 1st semester and my students are getting worn out and are anxious to enjoy their month long summer break. It’s getting tougher and tougher to retain their attention, but all-in-all they’re doing a great job. I too am looking forward to the break; I’ve gotta work but it’s only two weeks of teaching English summer camp then the rest is just desk warming. I still haven’t decided yet if I’ll use some of my vacation time or just save it all for winter break. This past week ranks amongst the top so far of being in Korea. My ... read more
Seoul Tower
Seoul Tower
Seoul Tower

Asia » South Korea » Yongin May 27th 2010

A few weeks back my branch school, Doochang Elementary was filmed by a Korean Television Network called 'EBS' I think it's Education Broadcasting System. It's all in Korean so you won't understand a lick the dialogue but the video shots will speak for themselves. A few things to pay attention to: -Notice the physical affection the teachers display to the students. Although it's utterly harmless, this wouldn't fly in the states without future sexual harassement allegations.. -Notice the huge LCD TV's along with the traditional chalkboards. Many things in Korea make absolutely no sense to me and this is certainly one of them. At all cost do I avoid writing things on the board. -Notice that there is only 5 teachers. With no administration lounging around, the teachers are able to focus all of their attention ... read more

Asia » South Korea » Yongin May 18th 2010

'My job is English teacher.' Welcome to my newly created blog, this should be a more efficient way of keeping you all updated with my adventures out here in Korea. Once I figure out how all of this works, I'll be able to not only share with you my stories but also some eagerly awaited for pictures. Many of you have asked how it's possible to teach English as a second language when I can't even speak the native language. I often wondered the same thing before I came out here. Well it is possible, difficult at times, but definitely possible. All English teachers in Korea have their own unique work environments. There are private schools called 'Hakwons' and public schools. I work in the latter. Hakwons operate very similar to how private schools do in ... read more
Wonsam
Villa
kitchen

Asia » South Korea » Yongin March 24th 2010

I have arrived! Korea, land of Kimchi, gigantic cities, beautiful mountains, and of course… Soju. A land rich in history, culture, and a plethora of various sights and sounds to see as far as the eye can see. Right after stepping off of the plane, I breathed in a heavy sigh of relief that my travels thus far have not been in vain. After months of stressful paperwork, multiple international shipping deliveries (those things are expensive!), visa runs, training in foreign countries, and living on the edge each day about whether or not this trip would actually come to pass; I have finally reached my final destination. I’d like to take a few minutes to thank the one person who has made this trip possible: Thomas the Train. Thomas, you taught me what it truly ... read more
My Walk to School
My Student 햋역 And I
Suji in the Evening

Asia » South Korea » Yongin April 13th 2009

Annyong Haseyo!!!! Phew! Over 3 months I've already been in Korea! Time sure does go by fast~ especially when I'm so busy! I have picked up tutoring a bit since being over here. Right now I'm tutoring a 7 year old boy English every Tuesday and Thursday night after I'm finished working at the school. It makes it an extremely long day, but I can't turn down the $50 an hour they're paying me. If I would have known I could make so much tutoring before I came here I wouldn't be working at the school so many hours and using my time to tutor instead! Oh well. I have also taken up a Korean language class. I have class 3 hours every Saturday. I pay monthly for the lessons and wanted to test out the ... read more
P2260358
P3060372
P3060373

Asia » South Korea » Yongin April 10th 2009

I've been here in Korea for over a week now and I'm about to start my 3rd full day of teaching. My job is actually not very time-consuming. In terms of actual hours in front of students, I have about 20 hours (22 classes per week at 45 minutes per class). I do have 20 different classes with about 40 students per class, which is a lot though. But since they study the same lessons, the preparation work I do is spread many classes that the per class prep time is really minimal. Teachers are okay with physical disciplining here. I am the main teacher while another teacher is supposed to go around helping students who don't understand what I'm saying. However, this teacher usually just ends up being a policeman and hitting kids who misbehave. ... read more




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